That got your attention, right?
Well...it should, anyway.
I get questions from folks from time to time asking about our finishes, will they turn, are they strong, will they wear off.
My response is: IT DEPENDS.
As far as being strong, you bet your boots our finishes are strong! Our finishes really are industry best and designer quality.....and! that's on purpose! I don't want to sell you something that wears right off when you run a fingernail over it. I've seen imported brass like that. If you rubbed it with your thumb, it would come OFF on your thumb. Ugh.
At the same time, folks, it's COSTUME JEWELRY. It's not precious metal. It's BRASS with thick plating. It's sealed well, but depending on the acid content in a person's skin as well as other environmental factors, YES OF COURSE... IT CAN TURN.
The good news is that there is a solution to that. CLEAN IT.
Would you wear the same pair of jeans day in and day out and never wash them?
EUWWWWW.
I would offer then, why would you never clean your jewelry? Come on, it's against your SKIN. *YOU* take a bath and we all know why people need a bath!
The jewelry needs to be cleaned.
It's simple to clean fine jewelry, for the most part. You don't have to worry about mixed media materials, fiber, plating, brass, glass stones.
How do you deal with cleaning jewelry made of plated brass?
At Judi Bollan's group, JEWELRY RING, which specializes in the discussion of vintage costume jewelry, the subject of cleaning comes up often. I used to carry a solution called Jewelry Joose, which was the bomb for cleaning plated costume jewelry. Unfortunately, the company closed business and I can't get any more.
What to do!
Jesse from Jesse's Vintage http://www.etsy.com/shop/JessesVintage posted to the group and offered what a great tip:
There is a cleaner at the dollar store called LA Awesome. It costs about a dollar, it's a lemonade-color in a rather large squirt bottle, so you sure get a good bang for your buck.
Jesse dilutes LA Awesome, 50% LA and 50% water. He puts it in a small disposable cup, then, he takes a cheap child's soft toothbrush and dips into the solution. Lightly brushing, he cleans all the plated metal, front, back and sides.
He pays careful attention to any open back stones, and to not be so zealous so that glue is loosened or that foil on stones is damaged.
Then, he does a quick rinse in cold water, pats dry with a towel. After that, out comes a small hair dryer to get the areas you can't reach with the towel.
KEY is to get that piece of jewelry VERY DRY! Especially true is the foil back stones. DON'T DUNK the stones. Just use the toothbrush, and don't get a bunch of solution back in behind any prong-set stones. If you do, use that hair dryer and get it DRY.
You can also use a cotton swab, and gently roll it over each stone. Clean in between the openbacked settings. It's a lot of work, but your piece may warrant it. Again, the main thing is that you get the jewelry COMPLETELY DRY.
Another good tool to remove tarnish quickly is a SUNSHINE CLOTH, which we sell at B'sue Boutiques Remember, 'tarnish' may not be discoloration in the sense that it is disagreeable. Most of we artists like the dark, old, vintage look. So when you use SUNSHINE, go easy. Plating CAN be removed if you rub the piece down with lots of elbow grease. It is not meant to be used that way, it's for surface cleaning and buffing.
Never use the cloth once it gets black and dirty, as it will pick up micro bits of metal as you go along and that can be rubbed back into the piece and SCRATCH IT.
Once you get your SS cloth all black, time to get another. What I do to get the most use from a SS cloth, is cut it in four pieces. That way you will use every nook and cranny of it!
Do you have a favorite way to clean costume jewelry? Would you like to share it? Feel free!